Collapsible Laundry Container

ABSTRACT

A collapsible laundry container includes an outer bag portion having a bottom and a plurality of sides extending upwardly from the bottom. An inner bag portion includes a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall. The inner bag portion is situated in an interior area of the outer bag portion. The bag portions are movable between a collapsed configuration in which respective side walls are generally adjacent respective bottom walls and an expanded configuration in which respective side walls extend upwardly from respective bottom walls. A cover member is removably coupled to one of the inner and outer bag portions and configured to prevent access to the inner bag portion interior area. The inner bag portion is permeable while the outer bag portion is impermeable.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/531,915, filed Sep. 7, 2011, titled Luggage Buddy. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to laundry containers and, more particularly, to a collapsible laundry container configured to separate clean clothing from dirty clothing in a traveler's luggage.

Travelers often attempt to keep clothing needing to be laundered separate from clean clothing in their suitcases. The traveler may attempt to keep already worn clothing on one side of the suitcase and clean clothing on the other. Unfortunately, clean and dirty clothing are often not kept completely separated and the clean clothing may still have to be laundered even though it was not worn. Some travelers may place their worn clothing in a plastic bag and then attempt to fit the bag into their suitcase. Unfortunately, one or more plastic bags of worn clothing may not fit well in the suitcase. In addition, placing wet clothing—such as swimsuits—in plastic bags may not prevent wet clothing from transferring moisture to clean clothing in the suitcase.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a collapsible laundry container that separates clothing in need of laundering from clean clothing in a suitcase. Further, it would be desirable to have a collapsible laundry container that may be expanded for insertion of clothing and collapsed to fit in a suitcase. In addition, it would be desirable to have a collapsible laundry container that prevents moisture from dirty or wet clothing to be transferred to adjacent clean clothing within a suitcase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A collapsible laundry container according to the present invention includes an outer bag portion having a bottom and a plurality of sides extending upwardly from the bottom. An inner bag portion includes a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall. The inner bag portion is situated in an interior area of the outer bag portion. The bag portions are movable between a collapsed configuration in which respective side walls are generally adjacent respective bottom walls and an expanded configuration in which respective side walls extend upwardly from respective bottom walls. A cover member is removably coupled to one of the inner and outer bag portions and configured to prevent access to the inner bag portion interior area.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a collapsible laundry container that segregates clothing that needs to be laundered from clean clothing within a user's suitcase.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collapsible laundry container, as aforesaid, that may be expanded to insert laundry and collapsed for transport in a suitcase.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a collapsible laundry container, as aforesaid, that is impermeable such that moisture from laundry therein does not mix with clean garments outside the container.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a collapsible laundry container, as aforesaid, that is easy to use and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laundry container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrated in an expanded configuration;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the laundry container as in FIG. 1 shown in a partially collapsed configuration;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the laundry container as in FIG. 1 shown in a fully collapsed configuration;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the laundry container as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the laundry container as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the laundry container as in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is an isolated view on an enlarged scale taken from FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A laundry container according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings. The laundry container 10 includes an outer bag portion 20, an inner bag portion 30, and a cover member 40.

The outer bag portion 20 includes a bottom 22 and a plurality of sides 24 extending upwardly from the bottom 22. The bottom 22 and sides 24 of the outer bag portion 20 together define an interior area 26. The sides 24 include respective upper edges that define an open top 28. The bottom 22 and sides 24 of the outer bag portion 20 are constructed of an impermeable material, such as a thin, flexible plastic material that is impermeable to water, such as moisture from wet garments placed in the interior area.

The outer bag portion 20 includes a construction that is movable between a collapsed configuration (FIG. 3) generally adjacent the outer bag portion bottom 22, a partially collapsed configuration (FIG. 2), and an extended/expanded configuration (FIG. 3) in which the outer bag portion sides 24 extend upwardly from the outer bag portion bottom 22. The sides 24 of the outer bag portion 20 are foldable so as to selectively collapse and expand. More particularly, each side 24 of the outer bag portion 20 includes a plurality of lines of weakness 29 that are each generally parallel to and separated from a next adjacent line of weakness 29. Further, each line of weakness 29 defines an imaginary horizontal axis about which the outer bag portion side 24 may fold when moving toward the collapsed configuration (FIG. 3).

The inner bag portion 30 includes a bottom wall 32 and a plurality of side walls 34 extending upwardly from the bottom wall 32. The bottom wall 32 and side walls 34 of the inner bag portion 30 together define an interior area 36. The side walls 34 include respective upper edges that define an open top 38. In some embodiments, the inner bag portion 30 may be constructed of a porous material that is permeable by liquid. For instance, the inner bag portion 30 may be a mesh material or a thin nylon or plastic material having a plurality of holes.

The inner bag portion 30 also includes a configuration that is movable between a collapsed configuration (FIG. 3) and an expanded configuration. In one embodiment, the inner bag portion 30 may be constructed of a thin plastic material having a plurality of lines of weakness 39 that are substantially similar in configuration and function as the lines of weakness 29 described above. In another embodiment, the inner bag portion 30 may include a mesh construction that is similarly movable between collapsed and expanded configurations.

The outer bag portion 20 is configured to receive the inner bag portion 30 into the outer bag portion interior area 26. In some embodiments, the inner bag portion 30 may be removable from the outer bag portion 20, such as when laundry is being loaded into or removed from the interior area 36 of the inner bag portion 30. However, when the inner bag portion 30 is situated in the interior area 26 of the outer bag portion 20, the respective open tops 38, 28 of the inner and outer bag portions 30, 20 are immediately adjacent one another or, as perhaps best understood, form a single or integrated top opening.

In some embodiments, the cover member 40 is removably coupled to an upper end of the outer bag member 20 and movable between a closed configuration covering the outer bag portion open top and an open configuration displaced from the outer bag open top and, therefore, not covering the open top. In some embodiments, the cover member 40 may actually be coupled to upper edges of the inner bag portion side walls 34 with a fastener 44 (FIGS. 2 and 4). The fastener 44 may be a zipper, a latch, a snap, a hook and loop fastener combination, or the like. It is understood that when the inner and outer bag portions are coupled together, the cover member 40 is configured to cover or expose the open top 38 of the inner bag portion 30 and corresponding interior area. A handle 42 may be attached to an upper surface of the cover member 40 such that the cover member 40 and bag portions may be carried by a user when the cover member 40 is selectively fastened to a respective bag portion as described above.

The laundry container 10 may also include at least one closure member 46 configured to releasably secure the bag portions in a collapsed configuration. Preferably, the present invention includes a plurality of closure members, as shown in the drawings. Each closure member 46 may include a first portion 47 coupled to the cover member 40 and a second portion 48 coupled to the outer bag portion bottom 22. The first 47 and second 48 portions may include female and male configurations, respectively, so as to be operatively coupled together when the outer bag portion 20 is at the collapsed configuration but that are not coupled together at the expanded configuration. It is understood that the closure members 46 enable the laundry container 10 to be secured in the collapsed configuration when being stored or transported, such as in luggage as will be described below.

In use, the laundry container 10 may be stored or transported in the collapsed configuration (FIG. 3). The laundry container 10 may be transported in luggage, such as on a business trip or vacation. As garments are worn, they may be deposited into the laundry container 10 by first removing the cover member 40 and inserting the garments into the interior area 36 of the inner bag portion 30 through its open top 38. The inner and outer bag portions may be manually expanded upwardly as garments are inserted therein so that no garments are allowed to fall therefrom. The cover member 40 may then be re-fastened to cover the interior area as described above. The outer bag portion 20 is impermeable to moisture so that dirty clothing or wet clothing, e.g. swimsuits, do not cause clean clothing in one's luggage to also require laundering.

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof. 

1. A laundry container, comprising: an outer bag portion having a bottom and a plurality of sides extending upwardly from said bottom, said outer bag portion bottom and said plurality of sides defining an interior area and an open top; wherein said outer bag portion sides are movable between a collapsed configuration adjacent said outer bag portion bottom and an expanded configuration extending upwardly from the outer bag portion bottom; and a cover member removably coupled to an upper end of said outer bag member and movable between a closed configuration covering said outer bag member open top and an open configuration not covering said outer bag member open top.
 2. The laundry container as in claim 1, further comprising: an inner bag portion having a bottom wall and a plurality of side walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said inner bag portion bottom wall and said plurality of side walls defining an interior area and an open top; wherein said inner bag portion is positioned in said outer bag portion interior area and configured such that said inner bag portion open top is immediately adjacent said outer bag portion open top; and wherein said inner bag portion side walls are movable between a collapsed configuration adjacent said inner bag portion bottom wall and an expanded configuration extending upwardly from said inner bag portion bottom wall.
 3. The laundry container as in claim 2, wherein: said outer bag portion is constructed of an impermeable material; and said inner bag portion is constructed of a permeable material.
 4. The laundry container as in claim 1, wherein said outer bag portion is constructed of an impermeable material.
 5. The laundry container as in claim 3, wherein said permeable material is mesh.
 6. The laundry container as in claim 2, wherein said inner bag portion is a mesh material.
 7. The laundry container as in claim 1, wherein each side of said outer bag portion includes a plurality of lines of weakness, each line of weakness defining a horizontal axis spaced apart from an adjacent line of weakness such that said plurality of lines of weakness cause said outer bag portion sides to fold down to said collapsed configuration.
 8. The laundry container as in claim 2, wherein each side wall of said inner bag portion includes a plurality of lines of weakness, each line of weakness defining a horizontal axis spaced apart from an adjacent line of weakness such that said plurality of lines of weakness cause said inner bag portion side walls to fold down to said collapsed configuration.
 9. The laundry container as in claim 2, wherein said inner bag is porous.
 10. The laundry container as in claim 2, wherein said cover member is removably coupled to said inner bag portion with a fastener taken from a group including a zipper, latch, snap, and hook and loop fastener combination.
 11. The laundry container as in claim 10, wherein said cover member includes a handle member coupled to an upper surface thereof so that said inner and said outer bag portions may be carried when said cover member is coupled to said inner bag portion.
 12. The laundry container as in claim 7, further comprising a closure member having a first portion coupled to said cover member and a second portion coupled to said outer bag portion bottom, said first portion being operatively coupled to said second portion when said outer bag portion sides are at said collapsed configuration. 